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blues: Quick Facts

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News •

“Dr. Funk” joins Minnesota Blues Hall of Fame • Oct. 19, 2026, 3:00 AM ET (Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder)

Photos and Videos

Bessie Smith
Blind Lemon Jefferson, c. 1928
Ma Rainey (center) and her band, 1923
Phil Chess, Etta James, and Ralph Bass pose together in Chess Records Studios, Chicago, 1960, with a microphone and recording equipment in front of them.
Celebrating Robert Johnson
Portrait of American composer W.C. Handy in a tuxedo, seated with one hand resting on a trumpet case, circa 1930s.
Meade “Lux” Lewis
Lonnie Johnson wearing a suit and bow tie, playing an acoustic guitar and standing in front of a microphone, circa 1940s.
Portrait of American singer Alberta Hunter, resting her head on her hand and looking toward the camera, wearing earrings and a ring.
Muddy Waters
The Origin of the Blues and the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi
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Related Topics and References

Topics
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Key People

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David Kimbrough
American musician
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Sam Phillips
American record producer
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R. L. Burnside
American musician
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Hubert Sumlin
American musician
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John Creach
American musician
The Queen of Soul
Aretha Franklin
American singer
Howlin Wolf, Chester Arthur Burnett, singing passionately into a microphone, 1964.
Howlin’ Wolf
American musician
The Staple Singers
Mavis Staples
American singer
Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
American musician
Jimi Hendrix performs on an outdoor stage, wearing a colorful jacket, purple pants, and a headband, playing guitar and singing into a microphone at the Love-and-Peace-Festival in Germany.
Jimi Hendrix
American musician
Guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan wearing a wide-brimmed black hat with silver conchos and a brown shirt, posing outdoors at an open air concert in Germany in 1983.
Stevie Ray Vaughan
American musician
Eric Clapton plays an electric guitar onstage, eyes closed, wearing glasses and a dark shirt, with drums and bright stage lights in the background.
Eric Clapton
British musician
Celebrating Robert Johnson
Robert Johnson
American musician
Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin
American singer
B.B. King
B.B. King
American musician
Alberta Hunter
Alberta Hunter
American singer
Jack White
Jack White
American musician
Bessie Smith poses in a sleeveless dress with jeweled accents, smiling and standing against a draped backdrop in 1936.
Bessie Smith
American singer
Hudie Ledbetter, known as Leadbelly, sits in a suit playing a 12-string guitar at Bank Street School in New York City, surrounded by children listening.
Lead Belly
American musician
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Ry Cooder
American musician

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